Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Did you get your passes for the almost entirely sold out Pitchfork Music Festival yet? Hopefully so because the line up this year is stacked. Despite some unfortunate cancelled acts (RIP Death Grips and Get Well Soon Kathleen Hanna!) the mix of up and comers with some seriously solid old school headliners make this one of the most anticipated Chicago music festivals of the summer. Happening THIS WEEKEND, July 18 - 20 down in Union Park, here's a few of our picks for "don't miss 'em" bands each day:

FRIDAY (7/18)

DEATH GRIPS - Well, Death Grips cancelled all their gigs and broke up via a note written on a napkin (RUDE) so there goes that. At least they cancelled BEFORE their scheduled performance this year. Oh well. Definitely not still butthurt over this at all. Nope.

The Haxan Cloak (5:15pm // Blue Stage) - I'm generally not one to recommend electronic acts (I prefer my musicians to actually play, you know, instruments) however, the dark and twisty instrumental soundscapes created by British musician and producer Bobby Krlic are incredibly seductive with a mix of haunting strings and heartbeat like percussions among the droning digital fuzz. This is not your usual thumping bass kind of electronic music. He already played an entrancing evening set at Pitchfork Paris last winter, so it will be interesting to see how his set goes over before the sun goes down.

Giorgio Moroder (7:20pm // Red Stage) - Keeping with the electronic theme for Friday, sometimes there are just those once-in-a-lifetime performances you have to check out and 74-year-old (!!) Italian producer and musician Giorgio Moroder is one of them. Disco pioneer Giorgio Moroder has been constructing synthwave vibes since the '60s and had a hand in producing music all over the past few decades, including the soundtrack for a little known gangster movie from the '80s called Scarface. Bring your disco dance shoes for this one!

Beck (HEADLINER // 8:30pm // Green Stage) - OMFG Beck! Morning Phase, Beck's most recent album released this past February, is VERY good, plus he will probably play his older crowd pleasers. Just want to sing along to Devil's Haircut and Loser plz and thanx!!

SATURDAY (7/19)

Circulatory System (1:55pm // Blue Stage) - Make it an Elephant 6 Saturday! Start off your Pitchfork on the early side with these long standing psych-rockers from Athens, GA to set the tone for the day. They just released a new LP Mosaics Within Mosaics a few weeks ago that had some input from NMH's Jeff Mangum and since they are playing later in the day is it too much to hope that the elusive Mangum might join Circulatory System on stage?

Cloud Nothings (3:20pm // Red Stage) - Noisy pop-punk rockers Cloud Nothings have been around for years but they always bring it when playing live. Veterans of the festival circuit these Cleveland dudes are just straight up fun.

tUnE-yArDs (5:15pm // Red Stage) - Merrill Garbus will almost certainly have a very danceable set with her unique brand of afrobeat-electro pop and her strong vocals. It's hard not to move around listening to tUnE-yArDs tunes and with her recent album Nikki Nack just out in May to follow up her hits from 2011 there will be plenty of material for her to work with for an upbeat joyful set.

St. Vincent (7:25pm // Red Stage) - If her set at Pitchfork is even half as good as her recent show at the Riv this past spring, this is definitely a set you shouldn't miss. Annie Clark is a fantastic performer as well as a talented musician and has yet to put out a bad album. She knows which songs her audience wants to hear and maybe if we're lucky she'll do her chill-bump inducing cover of Nirvana's Lithium.

Neutral Milk Hotel(HEADLINER // 8:30pm // Green Stage) - OMFG NMH!! If you somehow missed them on their reunion tour this past fall/winter you are in for a real treat. The best part of watching Jeff Mangum and friends is how much fun they have together on stage. In The Aeroplane Over the Sea is an amazing album that has really held up over the years and Julian's singing saws are just plain old enchanting.

SUNDAY (7/20)

Perfect Pussy (1:55pm // Blue Stage) - We covered their very short show back in January and if you missed these rowdy noisy hardcore rockers from Syracuse consider rallying on Sunday morning and coming to Union Park a little early to catch a (hopefully) longer set to kick off the last day of the fest.

Deafheaven (2:30pm // Green Stage) - Depending on how long Perfect Pussy plays this time you may be able to catch their full set and then Deafheaven immediately afterwards on the Green Stage. Deafheaven is about as metal as it gets at Pitchfork. Described as "shoe-gazey black metal," Deafheaven definitely had the crowd going for a daytime set at NYC's Governor's Ball back in June and is more accessible to most Pitchfork fest goers than a lot of metal. Sunday's early selections are pretty heavy so best bring earplugs if you can't handle it.

Earl Sweatshirt (3:20pm // Red Stage) - Take a break from the heavy and head over to what may be Earl Sweatshirt's last hip hop show for a while. Although he recently cancelled the remainder of his tour due to extreme exhaustion, he did say he would still play Pitchfork as scheduled.

Slowdive (6:15pm // Green Stage) - This British shoegaze band has been around since 1989 but it was quite a surprise to see them on the lineup since the band pretty much broke up back in 1994 (they reunited in 2014 and recently announced they'll go on tour this fall). There are a number of "blast from the past" performances this Pitchfork which works with the lineup quite well.

Saturday, July 12, 2014

WCR's Eliana Siegal headed up to Milwaukee's Summerfest late last month to catch Chicago's Empires play the fest, and captured some photos of the performance. Check out a selection of the shots below, and take a look at the Saudade Photography Facebook page for more.

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Drop the needle on Trail of the Great White Beaver and, at first, you might think nothing has changed with local punk pioneers Tutu & The Pirates. Formed in 1977, the group's material was heavy on tongue-in-cheek, adolescent snottiness, crunchy riffs and driving, fist-pump inducing beats. Raw anthems like "I Wanna Be A Janitor" and "Anarchy, Man" showed off an eye for satire and a warped sense of humor that helped make Tutu outsiders in a local music landscape dominated by what we now call "classic rock."

Flip the calendar almost 40 years and the band's new album opens with the raucous, crude and ultimately hilarious rocker "Jerk It To Sleep." Delightfully perverted lyrics aside (I didn't wanna wake you up/Had to jerk it to sleep/But I needed to shake things up/And make a mess on my sheets/Ew...), the song sets the tone for Beaver with it's combination of derecho guitars, bludgeoning drums and Lil Richie Speck's ornery crooning. "Debbie Debbie Debbie (And Her) Prison Baby" follows with a buzzsaw riff and massive percussion- think an even more buoyant take on The Ramones' "Teenage Lobotomy."